Foreign language anxiety and willingness to communicate in the ESL context : a study of intermediate- and advanced-level learners in two intensive English programs

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dc.contributor.advisorHorwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-
dc.creatorHardy, Jacques Wilburn
dc.date.accessioned2017-03-03T15:15:03Z
dc.date.available2017-03-03T15:15:03Z
dc.date.issued2007-12
dc.description.abstractThis study investigated the levels of and relationships between foreign language anxiety, willingness to communicate, and background variables among 44 intermediate and advanced-level adult ESL students enrolled in intensive English courses in Austin, Texas. Participants completed four surveys at the beginning of the Fall, 2007 instructional term. Descriptive analysis of the resulting data indicated relatively low levels of anxiety among the participants, although a small percentage exhibited moderate anxiety levels and nearly one quarter of them reported anxiety in certain classroom situations. The participants also reported generally low levels of willingness to communicate, especially with strangers and larger groups. Correlation analysis revealed that anxiety bore significant negative correlations with willingness to communicate, communication frequency, and self-perceived competence in both speaking and listening. Willingness to communicate correlated positively with frequency and self-perceived speaking competence. Participants who had been in the USA for over 6 months were slightly but significantly more anxious and less willing to speak English than newly arrived students. No other significant relationships were found between background variables and either anxiety or willingness to communicate in English.en_US
dc.description.departmentForeign Language Educationen_US
dc.format.mediumelectronicen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T27P8TJ65
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/45867
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.relation.ispartofUT Electronic Theses and Dissertationsen_US
dc.rightsCopyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en_US
dc.rights.restrictionRestricteden_US
dc.subjectForeign language anxietyen_US
dc.subjectESL (English as Second Language) studentsen_US
dc.subjectAustin, Texasen_US
dc.titleForeign language anxiety and willingness to communicate in the ESL context : a study of intermediate- and advanced-level learners in two intensive English programsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.genreThesisen_US
thesis.degree.departmentForeign Language Educationen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineForeign Language Educationen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Texas at Austinen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US

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